“Create healthy habits; not restrictions” – Natalie

By encouraging healthy eating habits, you can help your child maintain a healthy lifestyle…today and tomorrow.

Making your child eat nutritious food can be challenging, especially when the allure of junk food is overpowering. Ensure your kids love their food and this can be done without compromising on health. The habit of eating healthy begins at home but make sure their school promotes the values too. A good primary school will partner with the parents to raise happy, healthy, and confident children.

Finding it difficult to make your child eat nutritious food? Here are 5 sure-shot tips to make healthy eating fun and enjoyable for your children.

1. Guide Your Child’s Food Choices; Do Not Dictate

As said, restricting your child from eating something or forcing food upon him is not a wise idea. Rather serve him a variety of options that will help promote your child’s ability to make healthy food choices. It is okay to give your child an occasional treat but make sure you buy in small packages. This way, you can keep junk food to a minimum.

2. Choose Nutritious Substitutes

Kids often tag healthy food as ‘boring.’ And that is because we do not make them interesting enough to eat. Remember, the idea of encouraging healthy eating is not to cut down on their favourite foods but to offer them a healthier substitute that is equally delicious. For instance, if your child loves French fries, how about using an air-fryer instead of deep frying in oil? If he loves pizza, why don’t you make it healthy at home with whole wheat flour, fresh veggies, cottage cheese and unprocessed meat? It’s time to get a bit innovative with your recipes.

3. Make Food Fun

What do you think makes junk food attractive to children? It is how beautifully they are presented!

Why not use the same trick to make healthy food fun for your kids? Be creative! By presenting nutritious food in an interesting way can change their perception and they might try something new. For example, cut fresh vegetables into fun shapes or make animal faces with fruit kebabs. This way you can also encourage healthy eating.

4. Add More Greens and Fruits to Their Diet

Ever since childhood, make fruits and leafy greens an indispensable part of their healthy diet. It may be difficult to have your kids eat green vegetables. You can hide them in yummy wraps, tikkis, salads or sandwiches in a smart way. To make fruits interesting for them, make fruit sticks, juices or mouth-watering fruit chats that they will love to relish. Once the habit inculcates, they will maintain it for a lifetime.

5. Involve them in Grocery Shopping or Cooking Meals

To encourage healthy eating habit in a fun way, take your kid out for vegetable or grocery shopping. Tell him why such foods are good or bad for their health. Make them accompany you in preparing meals. This will help grow their interest in food.

Fun and healthy eating can go hand-in-hand if you know how to be creative. Talk to your child’s primary school to understand their role in this perspective. It is the joint initiative of the parents and schools to promote healthy eating habits in children.